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Organoids: mini organs in a petri dish for disease research and new curesA new automated system developed at the University of Washington is capable of efficiently producing mini organs from stem cells, and thereby has the potential to accelerate biomedical science and research.

Normally, when a researcher wants to test medications or treatments on cells from a particular tissue - for example, a liver - he should first grow the cells in the laboratory in a petri dish. The cells grow on the bottom of the dish and form a thin two-dimensional tissue that does not reflect what happens in the complex three-dimensional tissue that exists in the body. In recent years, researchers have been able to make stem cells develop into three-dimensional structures more like those in the body, called mini-organs. Researchers are able to test different treatments for the mini-organs, and to be more confident that they actually reflect what happens in the living body.

But there is one big problem: produci…

The transition from hunter-gatherer societies to farmers' societies
The people who lived 11,500 years ago in the area that is today northeast of Jordan apparently did not know this, but they were in the midst of one of the most important changes in human history: the transition from hunter-gatherer societies to farmers' societies. This is the change that led to the development of cities and then kingdoms, and ultimately to all human civilizations. These people already lived in permanent settlements, and began to use more and more plants and animals in their environment. And they had something else: dogs. 

In a new article, researchers from Denmark and the United Kingdom suggest that dog domestication have contributed to the expansion of resources available to people of the period, and that the dogs mainly helped to hunt relatively small prey, such as rabbits.
Those whose remains were found at a site known as Shubayqa 6 lived in basalt stone structures, with a stone floor, which …

About 128,000 years ago, the world began to warm up. It was a relatively brief respite between two ice ages, and it lasted about 14,000 years. Temperatures reached about two degrees Celsius above the average in the 20th century, glaciers thawed and large parts of Europe gave way to dense forests. The Neanderthals who lived on the mainland had a hard time coping with sudden climate change. In a new study, researchers from France examined bones and other findings from a cave in the southeastern part of the country and concluded that those ancient people were unable to find enough food in the warmer climate and had to resort to cannibalism to support themselves.


The world was heating up, the mammoths were goneNumerous bones and tools were found in the soil of the Moula-Guercy cave, from various periods of Neanderthal settlement in the area. Which dates back to the period between the Ice ages, the cave contains bones and charcoal that were preserved in an excellent manner and enable the re…

Breastfeeding Benefits and RecommendationsThe World Health Organization (WHO) recommends breastfeeding exclusivly for up to six months of age and combined with solid foods thereafter. According to WHO, only 38 percent of infants across the world receive breast milk for their first six months of life. The recommendation is designed to save lives and protect against infectious diseases, diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, diseases of the respiratory tract (asthma) and metabolic diseases (such as obesity). 

According to the data, more than 20 million babies are born each year at a low weight (under 2.5 kg) and are at higher risk for developmental delay and disease.The advantage of breastfeeding is not only medical. Comparative analysis concluded that breastfeeding reduces infant hospitalizations in childhood, increases intelligence, and increases the fertility and income of the infant in adult life. Therefore, if all infants were to be breastfed for at least a full-year, that alone is…

The cerebellum is a small structure in the back of the brain that is often thought to be involved in motor functions, including posture, balance and coordination. A new study reveals that there is a neural pathway between the cerebellum and the pleasure zone in the brain, which plays a role in social behavior.

The cerebellum is primarily responsible for motor functions. However, recent research suggests it is involved in other functions as well. It turned out, for example, that it is involved in the mechanism of pleasure. A study from 2011 has shown that repeated activation of the cerebellum causes the secretion of dopamine neurotransmitter in the prefrontal cortex. Another region of the midbrain, the Ventral Tegmentum, is directly related to the prefrontal cortex and is responsible for Dopamine release when we experience pleasure. Following these results, researchers in a new study hypothesized that there is a pathway that leads from the cerebellum to the Ventral Tegmentum, which in t…

Genetically modified crops have been criticized by environmental organizations for many years, although many studies have proven their safety. A new scientific review of about 6,000 genetically modified corn studies in the last 21 years shows that not only are genetically modified crops helping the environment, but they are also safer than 'natural' corn crops.

The researchers found that the crop of genetically modified corn was 10 percent higher than the corresponding non-modified corn crop. The concentration of nutrients in the different species was the same, meaning that a farmer who sows genetically modified corn in his fields will receive a healthy and nutritious crop in 10 percent more of the "natural" species. The farmer will not have to expand his fields, invade protected forests or hit the environment to increase the crop - he can simply use genetically modified varieties to achieve the same goal. Thus, the use of genetically engineered corn helps preserve na…